Simon Cowell praises AGT audition by falsely imprisoned man

Simon Cowell has given America’s Got Talent fans a moving sneak preview of one of the incredible auditions which take place in season 15.

The long-time judge and other members of the panel took to Twitter to bring the Archie Williams’ talent to the attention of fans.

Simon wrote: ‘This is Archie Williams. I will never forget this audition for the rest of my life. And I’ll never listen to this song in the same way ever again.’

The clip sees Archie arriving on stage to perform Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me by George Michael and Elton John.

Archie audition is especially unique because he was wrongfully incarcerated for 37 years after a 30-year-old woman was raped and stabbed in her home in 1982.

It was a crime Archie did not commit and he explained: ‘I knew I was innocent, I didn’t commit a crime but being a poor black kid, i didn’t have the ability to fight the state of Louisiana.’

Speaking to host Terry Crews, he admitted: ‘Freedom is of the mind, I went to prison but I never let my mind go to prison.’

To help himself from going to a dark place in his mind, he would sing and pray to lift his spirits.

In fact, he would imagine that he was auditioning for America’s Got Talent.

Excuse us while we go and cry in the corner for a bit.

Thankfully, the Innocence Project were able to use DNA evidence to lead to his release in March 2019.

The official AGT account also shared the clip with the caption: ‘Falsely imprisoned for 37 years, @Archieisfree is here and his voice is heard. His second chance begins on #AGT this Tuesday 8/7c on @NBC.’

And naturally, the judges were moved to tears by his incredible performance and unbelievably moving story.

Simon told him: ‘I will never ever listen to the song in the same way after you. It took on a whole different meaning for me… this is an audition I would never forget for the rest of my life.’

America’s Got Talent returns on May 26 at 8 pm (ET) on NBC. It also airs on Netflix in the UK.